You are here

CDI established the Trees of Hope Project in the Dowa and Neno districts of Malawi to reverse deforestation, mitigate the harmful effects of climate change, and bolster a self-sustaining marketplace by making tree farming profitable and attractive for smallholder farmers. The Trees of Hope project coordinates community-led efforts in climate change mitigation and has assisted in establishing over 400 profitable and ecologically viable community nurseries. In the current season, community nurseries in the region grew 630,000 seedlings. Since the inception of the program, more than 2.6 million trees have been planted by more than 2,500 smallholder farmers. This has resulted in a carbon offset of over 200,000 tons of C02. Farmers earn credits for the amount of carbon they offset, which are sold for additional revenue.

President Clinton is greeted at the SoyCo construction site in Rwanda. SoyCo is contracting with an estimated 30,000 local farmers to grow soya for its processing plant and is providing inputs to support those farmers.

Sekanakoni Banda stands next to one of the trees that he grows as part of the Clinton Development Initiative's Trees of Hope project in Malawi. Launched in 2007 in the Dowa and Neno districts, Trees of Hope aims to reverse deforestation by making tree farming attractive and profitable for farmers.

Through Clinton Development Initiative's programs in Rwanda, smallholder farmers learn improved planting techniques and have expanded access to seeds. The programs have helped 4,000 farmers’ increase their yields by 240 percent on average and are helping feed 30,000 people.

In Rwanda, the Clinton Development Initiative is helping people increase their livelihoods and reduce malnutrition by developing soybean production cooperatives and businesses, aiming to provide reliable, long-term buyers for local produce and offer farmers a buffer against price fluctuations.

Clinton Development Initiative

The effects of climate change are already being felt in Malawi. Frequent droughts, floods, and disruption of rainfall seasons are leading to decreasing water security, soil productivity, crop yields, forest cover, and biodiversity. Rampant deforestation and poor land management exacerbate the effects of climate change, including increased soil degradation. For the majority of Malawians that are dependent on subsistence agriculture, these changes in the environment threaten their livelihoods, putting them at risk for increasing incidence of poverty and diminishing opportunities.

The Clinton Development Initiative’s Trees of Hope project works to reverse deforestation by addressing issues of environmental degradation while making tree farming profitable for farmers in the Dowa and Neno districts of Malawi. The Trees of Hope project is certified by Plan Vivo, a program which supports communities in managing their natural resources by quantifying ecosystem services through certificates sold to generate funds. Through Plan Vivo certification, rural farmers in the Dowa and Neno districts decide how they can best address threats to their local ecosystems by planting their trees through one of the following systems: mixed woodlot; boundary planting; dispersed systematic inter-planting; citrus fruit orchard; and mango orchard. By using one of these systems, farmers profit from planting trees through the carbon credits they acquire. Already, farmers have sequestered 200,000 tons of CO2 – which are also certified by Plan Vivo – enabling farmers to immediately profit off their trees before they mature and become productive. In 2012, the Trees of Hope program made its first seven sales of carbon offsets, totaling 8,950 tons and providing $39,380 in income for farmers.

In addition to its economic benefits, the Trees of Hope project has been able to alleviate threats to the local ecosystem. The trees contribute to reducing soil erosion by checking run off, improving soil fertility by increasing bio-diversity, and limiting deforestation through improved land management strategies. Furthermore, the Trees of Hope project decreases the population’s vulnerability to climate change not only with benefits derived from the tree-based land use systems, but also through increased income from the sale of Plan Vivo carbon certificates.

About The Clinton Development Initiative

Today, despite billions of dollars in foreign assistance, the majority of Africans still lack access to basic, life-sustaining necessities including food and health care.